


On New Found Determination

by ReccoFanfiction



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Awesome Celestino, Confident Katsuki Yuuri, Deviates From Canon, Genet, Helpful Mysterious OC, M/M, Social Media, Viktor and Yuuri are Two Years Younger, YouTube, YouTuber!Yuuri, probably OOC characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 18:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9838241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReccoFanfiction/pseuds/ReccoFanfiction
Summary: A helpful stranger pointed out the high points of Yuuri's performance at the Grand Prix and it causes a changes throughout Yuuri's life and future.





	1. Spark

His scores at the Grand Prix were laughable.

Maybe Yuuri had an excuse, his dog had just died before the competition, he had anxiety, but really none of that mattered. It was the final result that reflected on him as a skater – None of the other factors. Already people were asking if he was going to retire, at the ripe age of twenty three. Yuuri was in the prime age for skating and people were asking if he would retire…

It wasn’t as if Yuuri expected to take Viktor’s third gold medal from him, but to do so badly that people were calling him out for retirement so soon…

One could wonder if there wasn’t some fact to it.

“Katsuki-san, do you think I could talk to you a moment?”

Yuuri heard a heavy accented English speaking woman speak, although he couldn’t make just where the accent was from. Still, he hesitantly turned toward the voice – Despite the fact Yuuri really wanted to go and cry in the bathroom. He was met with the picture of an extremely elderly woman looking at him with kind eyes.

“I watched your performance.” She stated.

Yuuri could feel his eyes misting over a little bit. He was about to speak, but to what end? To justify his performance? To apologize for it?

“I thought you had a lot of heart. I look forward to seeing you perform again next year.”  There was a smile in her eyes.

Yuuri could feel his eyes snapping wide open, because she clearly had the wrong skater and needed to be corrected, “I-I’m sorry miss. I believe you have the wrong person.” He bowed deeply as he finished speaking, as to starve off farther offence.

“You’re footwork, spins, and transitions were amazing. You didn’t cleanly land a single jump, but despite that and the clear pain you were in, you continued on and did your whole program. You are undoubtedly one of the strongest competitors that stepped upon that ice today.” Her voice was uncompromising, “You’re young as well. A lot of time to improve, to bring new and exciting things to the world of skating… Sometimes it’s important to keep in mind that you made it this far. You have fans, people who think, believe, that you can do this.”

Yuuri was utterly shocked by this entire situation. Some old woman that he didn’t even know just randomly coming up to him and telling him that he was actually good enough to be here? People all around the world had probably watched his performance and were thinking the exact opposite.  Sure, his family would likely never go against him; they would think he did amazing no matter what, but the regular people of Japan? He’d been an embarrassment to his country on worldwide television! There was no coming back from something like that.

Still, Yuuri couldn’t resist the almost pleased blush that spread across his cheeks.

The fact this woman had noticed him, pointed out his strong suits, thought he did well despite his obvious failings; it hit him right in his pride as an athlete. Everyone wanted to be told that they did well, even Yuuri Katsuki the failure.

“W-who are you e-exactly?” Yuuri stuttered out, barely able to force the words past his shock still lips.

“I’m just a fan of this sport. I’ve been watching for over twenty years… Never actually participated myself, but after watching so many good, skilled people on that ice, I know what I’m talking about.”

Even to the untrained eye, it was pretty easy to tell if a figure skater was actually good at what they did. The flow of the movement was clear even from far away, and if you fell then everyone saw it. Still, after watching for years like the woman said, it was likely true that she had more insight than the average observer did. That didn’t make Yuuri believe her though.

His expression of stunned disbelief probably spoke well of that fact.

“You don’t have to believe me, but don’t you owe it to yourself to at least check before making that assumption?”

The woman waddled away.

The question now was, did he really owe that to himself? It would be simple to see what the opinions were – One glance toward his social media would tell him everything he needed to know. Yuuri’s nerves were raw, could he really handle the comments he knew awaited him? So close to shattering as he was, and he needed to talk to his family about Vicchan as well…

No, something told him that if he didn’t do this now, he wouldn’t latter on.

Yuuri pulled out his phone and took a deep breath, unlocking it and opening up twitter.

Over one hundred different notifications. This was weird of course, as Yuuri hadn’t ever bothered to use his twitter except for the few times that Phichit had forced him to. His original plan was just to look up figure skating and see if he’d been so horrible people were actually talking about it without shame, but it seems that it was actually worse than that – If people bothered to search for his actual social account.

Taking another deep breath, Yuuri clicked on the notification tab to read what had been there.

Over a hundred new follows, which meant nothing to him, but then there were several @KatsukiYuuri _______ comments.

They were mixed… Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of the responses were nice.

MinamiKenboy: I still believe in u @KatsukiYuuri! No matter what I will look up to u and hope to skate with u as an equal! (3 retweets 182 likes)

Sk8dom: Tough for @KatsukiYuuri, but I know that he can do better. His qualifying performances proved that. (15 likes)

.

.

.

And there were more. Yuuri forced himself not to think about the negative ones, posts proclaiming that he wasn’t fit to have even been in the Grand Prix Finals, even one that said he wasn’t good enough to be on the same ice as Viktor Nikiforov. That one in particular cut deep, but somehow it actually helped for him to read the comments. Celestino had feared that Yuuri would break under the pressure provided by social media and made sure to caution his skater against checking it. He’d been wrong…

Yuuri actually felt a lot more determined.

It put things into perspective if nothing else. It was practically a kick in the ass to realize that yeah, he had failed at the Grand Prix Final, but it was the GRAND PRIX FINAL! How many people even qualified to be there? Only some of the best skaters around. Being upset about losing was utterly ridiculous. If anything, the only thing Yuuri should feel guilty about is that. Never mind the fact that there were people out there than looked past his performance and said – He can do better.

“Katsuki! What do you have to say about your performance in the Prix and what are you planning on doing the rest of the season?” A reporter suddenly asked, pulling Yuuri from these thoughts.

Celestino was also approaching.

Still, the reported brought up something quite valid. What would he do for the rest of the season? What did he want to do with the rest of his figure skating carrier? A few moments ago, he’d been thinking of retiring, and now he had even the slimmest of determination back – Never mind the fact people were still expecting things from him, people expected him to climb back up the latter and actually prove what he could do. That old woman included.

“… Next year I’ll do b-better…” Yuuri stated, and despite his stutter, his voice managed to sound strong.

The reported looked almost shocked at that response, and was about to ask another question, but Celestino appeared and took the reins on the situation, “Yuuri! There you are. It’s about time to be getting back to the hotel, and we can have a discussion there.”

Undoubtedly, his couch wanted to ask a similar question to the one that had just been posed to Yuuri by the reporter. Yuuri didn’t say another word, just nodded and followed his couches leading hand out to the lobby. The reporter tailed behind, seemingly intent on asking the follow up questions he thought he was deserved.

Media was incredibly self-serving like that.

All three of them came to a stop when Viktor Nikiforov, his couch, and his younger Russia counter-part also entered the area. Yuuri couldn’t help but let his eyes wander toward his idol. There was an urge, to go over to the man and give congratulations, to wish him luck for the rest of the season, to introduce himself. Of course, his own shy nature held him back – but he still stared.

Until he was caught.

“Commemorative photo?” Viktor asked, a smile painted onto his face.

He was looking at Yuuri.

It wasn’t hard to see why the man thought Yuuri was just a simple fan. Yuuri was practically borderline fangirling at the sight of the man. Celestino looked almost offended – It only took Yuuri a few moments to follow where his thought line went. The man didn’t recognize one of his own competitors, didn’t acknowledge Yuuri as more than the fan that he appeared to be. It hurt, but Yuuri didn’t let it cut him too deep. He already said that he would do better next year, and he would do exactly that. When it came to things that Yuuri was determined to do, he had never fell short. Of course, his first dream was to skate on the same ice as Viktor, now it had changed. Now Yuuri would make himself strong enough to be considered something other than a failure.

Simply put, it was hard to be mad at Viktor for the lack of acknowledgement, when Yuuri knew that he hadn’t earned any acknowledgement yet.

“S-s-sure… I can think of a few of my friends that will be super jealous I got a photo with Viktor Nikiforov.” Yuuri came closer to the man; unable to stop the huge blush that was appearing on his cheeks, but it was too late to back down now. He would take this photo – Why not? He idolized the man, and it was offered.

When Yuuri proved himself worth it, maybe Viktor could look at him as actual competition. Until then, even this little bit of attention was enough.

Viktor stepped forward and put an arm around Yuuri, who probably couldn’t look less like a tomato. He forced his twitching fingers to take several pictures in quick succession – One of them bound to be good quality. After which, he turned toward Viktor who was already pulling away, “You earned that metal, you had a beautiful performance. Congratulations.”

Since Viktor seemed rather ready to leave the conversation, Yuuri turned away and started to walk back to his shocked looking coach, who still seemed rather offended, only to have his attention called back when he heard an immature cracking voice screaming at him, “OI! You’re that other Yuuri who’s in the senior division who boomed! You should get out, I’m making my senior début and there doesn’t need to be two Yuri’s in this division.”

Yuuri turned to face the voice, and was met with someone just about the same height, a dark look on their face, and blonde hair. Honestly, Yuuri couldn’t deal with anger, and started almost trembling in the face of the angered Russian.

“Mr. Katsuki, how does it feel looking at your other competitors that don’t even recognize you for being against them?” The same hounding reporter from before spoke, this time standing in front of Yuuri’s way to the outside door. The question was almost as in his face as the Russian Yuri currently was.

‘ _Oh man… I can’t take this kind of stress on top of everything else…_ ’ Yuuri thought, feeling sweat gathering on his forehead, “… As I said before, I’ll do better next year. Maybe then, my performance will be good enough to acknowledge. Until then, there isn’t anything for it…. Sorry Russian Yuri… I’m not giving up that easily….”

‘ _WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?! OH GOD YUURI YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST WALKED AWAY_!’ Yuuri panicked in his mind, frantically looking toward Celestino for help. The man had facepalmed rather dramatically, and Yuuri had to wonder if the man knew his skater had mouth issues. He probably did, after all, Yuuri had been under him for years, the coach would know of the subtle existence of Sassy Yuuri – but in all likelihood, the mix between nervous and sassy probably had an unexpected outcome.

…

Escaping from the building hadn’t been easy. Russian Yuri hadn’t been a happy camper at Yuuri’s refusal to leave skating, and several people took notice of his declaration that Katsuki would do better next year – and had no problem sharing their opinion or wanting to ask questions. Eventually though, they got back to the hotel that both Yuuri and Celestino shared a room in.

“So, you’ll do better next year, huh?” Celestino asked, seemingly in good humour about the incident.

Yuuri could feel blood rushing toward his cheeks at top speeds, “That’s so embarrassing…”

“I’ve wanted you to have that sort of confidence since I started to train you. To see it finally happening was a great feeling… Although the time could have been better.” He had an amused smirk lifting the corner of his mouth, “What’s your plan?”

It was almost a test.

Celestino was always a bit of a strict task master – but he wanted to give the skaters under him the room to grow, and to show their own ability in unique ways. Yuuri hadn’t ever shown a want to take advantage of that before. In fact, he was the only skater that hadn’t chosen his own music. He hadn’t choreographed his own routine either, which given Yuuri’s background in dance was unusual. He had the ability to do such, but never took advantage. He also just let Celestino sign him up for whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and gave his coach complete control.

For once, Yuuri took a second to think about it. He wanted to remain good on his word, which meant he needed to figure out how it was that he wanted to complete the goal. Ideally, he needed time to train, to come up with ideas, to find a balance in the delicate motivation that Yuuri had only just gained.

“I think.. I should take off the year until qualifications for the next Prix… I can take that time to train and come up with a new program and new routines… I guess?” Yuuri hesitantly added at the end.

Celestino looked proud – Yuuri felt relieved at this. The idea of disappointing his coach after everything that happened today was pretty unbearable.

“Alright Yuuri, I’ll check in on our lights to Detroit. How do you feel about competing in Four Continents should the JSF put your forward?”

"... My programs got me to the Grand Prix, I guess I can do them for Four Continents if I am put forward..." It was clear though, that Yuuri didn't think he would be. Especially since he wasn't ready for, nor did he want to, compete in Nationals. He wasn't ready to go home yet and face it, despite how cowardly that was. 

The conversation was over. Apparently, it was that simple.

“You should get some rest, Yuuri. You’ve more than earned it, and apparently you have a long road in front of you – If you want to realize those plans of yours.”

Yuuri just nodded, and went over to his bed, laid down, and stared at the ceiling. Despite everything that had happened, sleep didn’t immediately come to him. What he really wanted was to cry out all the emotions that he’d felt during this past week, but his coach was right there… Therefore, the young skater held himself back. It was going to be a long night.


	2. YouTube

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri becomes a YouTuber and his bestie brings the Japanese Skater somewhere far too quickly for poor Yuuri's emotions... Especially when he gets practically guilted into an adoption. 
> 
> NOTE: Last chapter I made an edit. Celestino asks Yuuri what he would do if he gets an invitation for 4cc and Yuuri states that he would perform the same program that he used in the Grand Prix (Despite the fact he doesn't believe he will be asked to go) It was pointed out to me in a review that Yuuri could still reach his goals without taking so much time off. I believe that Yuuri is still too emotional and in a bad place to do Nationals, but 4cc I could understand. (Especially since Viktor's not there, and I'm not ready to add him to the story yet, so it's perfect)

It was not as easy as just jumping back on the horse when you were Katsuki Yuuri.

He realized that he deserved to be on the ice, that he earned his place at the Grand Prix and that was amazing in and of itself, even though he had a hard time accepting it, but there was still something missing. The best way to put it was that he had less of a spark for skating. People believed in him, and it was amazing, but his determination as a skater had still lessened.

This was mostly in relation toward Vicchan.

Yuuri couldn’t help but think that he was in a lot of ways, at fault for that. He hadn’t been home to be with Vicchan in years, and that was because of skating.

In Detroit for a matter of days, and already Yuuri could feel his emotions waning.

He had one week before he was due back on the ice. Celestino had given him that long, expecting his top skater to be rested and ready for practice after the break time. That gave Yuuri one week to find a more stable determination than he’d previously had – Installed in him by the old woman.

A few hours into his slump, Phichit was home and knocking on Yuuri’s bedroom door – Not waiting for an answer before walking in.

Phichit and Yuuri shared an apartment by their college. It was a small place, two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Relatively cheap at that – As even despite the fact that both of them had earned money for a bigger place, they didn’t want it. Phichit won a few small competitions around America, and worked odd jobs. Yuuri on the other hand, had won his fair share of competitions as well – He also had a sponsorship and invested his money. The majority of skaters eventually got sponsored when they were good enough, and that’s where the majority of their money comes from. Yuuri wasn’t exactly rich, but he was mid to high middle-class line in by American standards.

“Yuuri, Ciao Ciao just told me about your new goal~ I’m glad to hear that you are okay after what happened.” Phichit stated, sitting next to Yuuri as his friend just stared at the ceiling, deep in thought, “Of course, you’ll have me to compete with next year, and I won’t go easy.”

Yuuri glanced toward Phichit, who despite the challenge he just issued, was wearing a friendly grin.

Yuuri gave a resigned sigh, “I know what I said but… I don’t know. I guess I still feel guilty, despite the fact I want to do better…”

“Yuuri, what do you want to do after you complete your Competitive Skating?” Phichit suddenly asked, gaining him a startled look.

Honestly, Yuuri hadn’t thought much about it. He still had years, but honestly, it was something he should have considered before, “I guess… I want to do something with my degree.”

After all, going through years of getting your degree only to not use it would be idiotic. Yuuri was going for a degree in video creation, maybe after he was done skating, he could create documentaries for famous skaters or something like that. Alternatively, he could just leave the skating world – Though that was hard to imagine.

“I was thinking you would say that. I had an idea the other day.” Phichit was smiling far too widely, “You should start a YouTube Channel. It would put your degree to work, and it would also help you build some confidence in yourself.”

A YouTube Channel…?

“I was thinking about making one myself, that’s why I’m bringing it up. People can actually make a lot of money on YouTube! Moreover, it’s a form of social media, a way to put yourself out there. You can gain some followers pretty easily, being that you are one of the world’s top figure skaters. I don’t think that any other top figure skaters even really try to make their own channel. Just some food for thought.” Phichit finished, giving his friend a grin before leaving the room, “I’ll make dinner today, you think it over.”

A few days ago, Yuuri would have turned down the idea in a heartbeat. He would have thought, ‘No one wants to see me skate, they don’t want to know about my everyday life, I’m boring and people don’t want to see that.’ But now things were a little bit different. Yuuri knew that he did actually have a fan or two, people that wanted him to do better, that thought he could, that were waiting for him to come back to the Prix next year and show them what he had.

Would those same people watch him on YouTube? What did Yuuri lose if he gave it a shot?

One glance at social media the other day gave him the confidence he needed to think about continuing, maybe the trend would continue.

A few hours later, dinner was ready, traditional sort of Thai food that Phichit so loved introducing his Japanese friend to, and Yuuri greeted his friend with a shy grin, “I’ll do it.”

…

Yuuri was already starting to regret the decision a little bit. Phichit became something of a monster the second Yuuri agreed. He demanded that they went to Best Buy to get a camera, specifically one that shot 1080p at least, as well as a GoPro to use during skating. As they took the bus, Phichit began coaching Yuuri on what would be needed.

Social Media presence was a must apparently, Yuuri needed to not only use his Twitter, but also Facebook and Instagram consistently. He would also need to update his YouTube Channel consistently around the same time on a schedule. He then went on to talk about the ‘types’ of channel that Yuuri could create. Vlog, challenge, reaction, tutorial, there were a lot of different options.

It was overwhelming – Somehow though, it was refreshing for Yuuri to see his Thai friend in such good spirits.

“So, have you come to the decision?” Phichit asked, smiling in his friend’s direction.

All Yuuri wanted to say was, give me a second I still haven’t absorbed the information, but instead he just returns his friends look, “I think… Maybe a Vlog on Thursdays and a challenge or tutorial sort of thing on Tuesday…”

Phichit just nodded sagely, the bus had stopped at the mall – Both friends departed and started to walk toward the Best Buy. Suddenly it occurred to Yuuri that he hadn’t showed his friend something.

“Phichit! Look what I got!” Yuuri whispered frantically, his eyes gaining an enthusiastic twinkle, and he unlocked his photo, going into the pictures and showing his friend the best picture of him and Viktor Nikiforov together, Nikiforov’s arm wrapped around Yuuri’s shoulder in a friendly manner. Phichit looked at it for a moment, just feeling neutral. Ciao Ciao had told him of how Viktor hadn’t even recognized Yuuri as a competitor, and had mixed feelings about the man since then. Still, it wouldn’t do good to upset Yuuri, who seemed genuinely excited to have just been close enough to meet the person he’d looked up to for so long.

“That’s great Yuuri! I’m glad you got the chance to meet him.”

Phichit hoped his smile reached his eyes.

…

When they got home, hours were spent making a YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and updating his Twitter. Phichit choose a picture of Yuuri giving a sheepish peace sign toward the camera and made this his picture across all the social media. Banners were harder to create needing photo shop. Yuuri choose something simple, a silhouette coloured purple of him skating next to a timeline that states when he posts.

His YouTube Channel was called: Yuri on Ice

It was almost mid-night by the time they were done.

“Alright! Tomorrow we can make your channel trailer and you can get started posting!” Phichit declared, looking as though he couldn’t be happier, but there was a glimmer of pride there as well, “I’m really glad you’re doing this Yuuri, I really think this will help… Hopefully it will help you get over Vicchan before you have to get back to skating as well.”

He was so blunt about it… Somehow though, Yuuri could actually appreciate that more than stepping around the issue. This was weird, because Yuuri normally liked to avoid emotions like that.

…

“So… Welcome to my YouTube Channel. Ahhmm… I’m really glad you decided to check it out. I’m going to be doing a lot of skating stuff and vlogging my week so that you guys can know what else I’m doing… Usually I’m going to post twice a week, once of Tuesday which will have skating stuff and on Thursday I’ll have the vlog stuff.” Yuuri could feel heat rise to his cheeks as he spoke to the camera, he waited until Phichit left to do it, because it was embarrassing enough without his Thai friend there to see it happen.

“About me… I’m a competitive skater from, and representing Japan. My favourite food is Katsudon, I just competed in the Grand Prix and … I… Uhm… I lost by a lot and got in last place. I promised that I would do better this year! So I’m trying to gain more confidence in myself… This is one aspect of that so… If you want to watch me grow please continue to watch me!”

Yuuri quickly stopped filming and uploaded the video onto his laptop, opening up Sony Vegas as he did so. As it was, the video would be pretty short… No skating was in it either.

A quickly search in YouTube gave him footage that made him want to huddle in a corner. There would be useable parts in there that he could add to the end of his channels trailer.

The video he found was title: Katsuki Yuuri’s Disastrous Free Program

A quick Google later and Yuuri was using ClipConverter.CC to rip down the video. It wasn’t as though anyone would ever know… People did things like that all the time as well – He wasn’t the only one. After the video was downloaded and placed into Vegas with the other raw footage, the editing began. He even placed him flubbing a jump right after he talked about his failure at the Grand Prix – To accentuate his opinion.

Once it was done, Yuuri felt less heavy.

It seemed as though watching his own performance from a neutral perspective to edit a video was almost cathartic. It allowed him to see what he did and note the _good_ points as well as the bad.

Phichit was right about this being a good idea.

The video was uploaded, titled simple enough: Yuuri on Ice – Channel Trailer. He then took the link, shortened it using goo.gl and sent the video off on his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Once it was up, the next step in being a YouTuber came. He needed to sign up for Google Adsense. (Luckily enough – Celestino supported Yuuri becoming a duel citizen, which would make this a lot easier.)

…

It was day three of the break – Phichit wanted to take him somewhere. So, as would become a habit in the future, Yuuri grabbed his camera and started to film. Although his ability to actually make money off the channel wouldn’t come up until later.

“Today me and Phichit are going somewhere… Honestly I have no idea where he’s taking me. He wants it to be a surprise. I’m a bit worried; he knows I can’t handle surprises well.” Yuuri spoke to the camera, being utterly candid.

Phichit had told him that some YouTubers would over do their personality or create a whole new character. His Thai friend quickly assured him that he had a way about him that would make that unnecessary for the Japanese Skater. It was called being adorable – At least, that’s how Phichit put it.

“Yuuri! We’re taking the bus come on!” Phichit said, by the doorway.

“Should I film it?” Yuuri said, looking pretty unsure of himself.

Phichit just grinned and nodded.

The bus ride was… Enlightening. Like with all bus rides, there were characters there that you really couldn’t meet anywhere else. No one minded that they were being filmed; it seemed that people just in general expected to be filmed in this day and age.

“This stop.” Phichit declared.

They pressed the button, got off, and they were in front of –

An animal shelter.

Yuuri was practically tearing up now, and he felt borderline betrayed, “Phichit…?”

He’d only just lost Vicchan and he certainly wasn’t looking for a replacement. This was especially true considering just how badly he’d screwed up the first time around with his pet. Leaving him for years only to come to the realization that the pet had died without ever seeing his owner again.

Phichit grimaced at the reaction, but swiftly explained himself, “I know that you are still down about Vicchan, Yuuri. I’m not telling you to pick up an animal today, but I think that you should at least look. Maybe finding place in your heart for another animal would help. You’ve learned your lesson after all.” Over more, what a harsh lesson that was.

Despite the fact it would likely hurt him more than help him at the time, Yuuri found himself nodding to the reasoning.

It wasn’t that Yuuri agreed, but he honestly liked seeing adorable animals and it would be nice… So far Phichit had been right about what he needed in order to help himself. Making a YouTube channel had solidified his feelings on his performance, so Yuuri should at least give it a chance.

Swallowing, he pointed the camera toward himself, despite the fact his eyes were still misted over, “My ring mate brought me to an animal shelter… I lost my dog a few days ago right before the Grand Prix. I feel really guilty about it still; I guess that he’s trying to make up for that guilt in some way. This might be over sharing – I probably won’t keep it in the video.”

“You should! It shows your emotions and makes you the genuine person you are.” Phichit claimed in all sincerity.

They walked in, Yuuri filming around the shelter. It seemed like a depressing sort of place, although it was subtle. It almost seemed like they were trying to force a lighter atmosphere.

“Hello! How can we help you today? Would you looking to adopt?”

A blonde, bubbly woman spoke, pointing toward the entrance to the kennels.

“No, today we are just looking. Maybe some other day we will adopt. We can only take in cats or other small animals though – the buildings rules and all that.” Phichit spoke, placing a comforting hand on Yuuri’s shoulder, noticing him shaking a little bit.

“Oh, alright come this way. We keep the dogs on the left and cats on the right.”

There they were, what seemed like thousands of cats. Phichit excitedly bounced from kennel to kennel, looking at all of them, snapping a few pictures for Instagram. I followed at a more sated speed, allowing the camera to linger.

“What’s with this kitten?” Yuuri heard Phichit ask suddenly, the blonde woman walked over.

She gave a little frown, “The poor thing came in yesterday… Seems to be only a few days old, but it clearly as some birth defects. In all likelihood, we’ll have to put it down before it suffers or becomes too expensive.”

Yuuri walked over and looked into the kennel they were talking about. It quickly became apparent what the problem was. The cats face was far too skinny, almost as though it was forced that way, and the body was also far too skinny and short for what would be typical if a kitten. Yuuri continued to run a wary eye over the kitten, but knew there was nothing he could do to help it. Except… Was it even a cat? It looked more like a ferret than anything – And if Yuuri didn’t do anything, the kitten was going to be killed.

“I’ll take him.” Yuuri heard his own voice speak, getting shocked looks form both Phichit and the woman.

No one was more shocked than Yuuri himself.

…

Day four of break was just as hectic. The second he got the kitten, he searched for a vet to check in on the poor thing, which had taken pretty much the rest of day three. The little vacation from skating was becoming less and less like a vacation and more like a job. Once Yuuri got the kitten checked however, the vet had some news for him.

“This isn’t a cat. It’s actually a different breed of animal called a Genet. Native to Africa domesticated over the years. They look like a cross of a cat and a ferret with unique markings along their body… They require a lot of play and bonding from a young age, seems you caught this little kit just in time.” The vet explained, “You also got the right vet. Had it been anyone other than an exotic vet, you would have gotten the little kit vaccinated, and that could have killed him. I can submit the paperwork for you to legally have him as a pet. What’s his name?”

It was overwhelming, suddenly realizing Yuuri had taken another life under his wing. Last time that didn’t work out all that well, “I’ll name him… Milo.”

Milo-chan… It was removed from Vicchan and a different breed… One that Yuuri could actually keep with him… Maybe this would actually help him heal.

Once the adoption papers were through, Yuuri didn’t for a second regret it. Instead, he stormed to the internet and started Googling how to take care of his new Genet. When indoors, they liked the same sorts of pens as ferrets, or just to be allowed roaming. There was also training them for the outside, which meant you needed to train them not to mind a harness at a young age. Their diet was not all that different from a cats, although more picky as far as nutritional needs went. They also liked to have eat grasshoppers and similar things. These could be used to train them.

The camera was out, filming the adorable little troublemaker that was making its home in Yuuri’s bed, “I can’t believe I’ve done this… Milo-chan is pretty cute though. I’ll definitely not let what happened with Vicchan happen again with Milo-chan.”

After filming Milo-chan for another minute, giving the little kit some milk, Yuuri sat down next to the now sated animal and pointed the camera toward himself, “Alright, so on the skating side of things. I’ve had this week off, but after tomorrow I’m due back for practice. I told my coach that I would come up with my own pick of music and maybe even choreograph the routines myself.”

Yuuri paused in thought, “I have my strong suits down, but I only have one quad. I need to expand that by at least one other quad if I want to actually pose any sort of challenge toward the rest of the contestants next year. I’ve been thinking it over, the first thing I should do is probably learn the Salchow, and it’s the easiest after the toe loop.”

The skater paused in thought, “With that much training, and training this adorable little guy, I’m certainly going to have my hands full. Despite the fact it’s been a busy few days, I’m definitely grateful, I feel a lot better than I did at the end of the Grand Prix.”

“I’m definitely going to follow my word and do better this year.” The Japanese skater declared to the camera.

Tomorrow was Tuesday… Which meant it was time to edit together the little Vlog video and put it up on YouTube, then blasting it over the other Social Media.

Yuuri was up until 10PM editing the video to perfection, after which he titled: Milo-chan the Genet finds a New Home – Training Update

He went to get his mail before going to bed, Yuuri could here Phichit already snoring away, and sitting within his pile of mail was a letter with a familiar acronym across it. This honestly couldn’t be real. There was no way that he was getting an invitation to compete after that disaster that was the Grand Prix.  Yuuri naturally just assumed he’d have to work his way back up the pecking order – Maybe this was just them telling Yuuri that he was _not_ accepted. That would make much more sense.

Right?

**Yuuri's Subscriber Count: 257**

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love Yuri!!! On Ice, but I'm relatively new to the fandom and it's been YEARS since I paid any mind to figure skating. (Since I was something like 10 taking lessons... so it's been 10 years since I did anything other than glance at a few performances) I don't know a lot of technical things, and as far as OOC characters goes - Point it out to me so I can fix mistakes! I need the help, trust me. 
> 
> I was hesitant to even write this story because of the potential for these mistakes. So please, if you see one, tell me ASAP~!


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